VERMONT HIGHER EDUCATION ENROLLMENT

Fall 2019 Higher Education Council

SMC Box 289 802-654-2092 Colchester, VT 05495 [email protected]

Introduction

Higher

In the Fall of 2019 Vermont was home to 19 institutions of higher education, including: four state colleges; 14 Vermont-chartered independent colleges1; and The . These schools enrolled over 38,000 students during the Fall 2019 semester.

The Fall 2019 enrollment report captures preliminary real-time data from 16 of the 19 Vermont-Chartered campuses2 collected in December of 2019. This summary provides readers with a high-level overview of student data at a statewide level, with some comparisons between groups of institutions. Background data used to compile this report can be requested by contacting us at [email protected]. Enrollment reports from previous years are also available on VHEC’s website: www.vermonthec.org.

Note on Terms: Data in this report are categorized in two ways: “headcount” refers to a count that includes students attending college in Vermont in any capacity (part-time or full-time) and data that are drawn from this population. “Full-time” refers to undergraduate students who are enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, or 12 or more quarter credits, or 24 or more contact hours a week each term; or graduate students who are enrolled for 9 or more semester credits, or 9 or more quarter credits, or a student involved in thesis or dissertation preparation that is considered full-time by the institution.

Serving 38,000+ Students

1 In addition to the 20 Vermont-Chartered Institutions of Higher Education there are a number of institutions operating satellite campuses in Vermont whose primary campus is located in another State. Those institutions are not included in this dataset. 2 The following independent institutions did not submit data for this report: , Culinary Institute, and .

Student Residency

Vermont’s higher education institutions served over 38,000 students in the Fall of 2019, including over 34,000 undergraduate and over 4,600 graduate students3. Approximately 40% of those students were Vermont residents, and the remainder came to us from other states and countries (Figure 1).

In-State vs. Out-of-State Students in Vermont Higher Education Instiutions

Percent in- state students 40%

Percent out- of-state- students 60%

Percent out-of-state-students Percent in-state students

Figure 1: In-state vs. out-of-state students total (headcount) While the had the largest percent of in-state students (83% or 9,142 students), 4,062 of The University of Vermont’s students (31% of its total enrollment) and 2,485 of Independent colleges were also in-state students (17% of its total enrollment – see Figure 2). These data are similar to data collected in 2018. In-State vs Out-of-State Students by Institution Type 100% 83% 83% 80% 69% 60% 40% 31% 17% 17% 20% 0% Independent UVM VSC

Percent out-of-state-students Percent in-state students

Figure 2: In-state vs out-of-state students, percentage by institution type (headcount)

3 The headcount for the Vermont State Colleges accounts for students who take classes at more than one State institution; these students are only counted once. Visit www.vsc.edu for more detailed State College data.

Enrollment Status Student Enrollment The majority of students attending Vermont Status (Full-Time vs institutions attended full-time (74%), but Part Time) about 26% of students (approximately Percent Part-Time 10,049) were part-time graduate or 26% undergraduate students, including those who are seeking certificates (Figure 3). This part- Percent time population is slightly higher than the Full-Time 74% part-time population in Fall 2018 (25%). This appears to reflect a trend (Fall 2017 = 24%; Figure 4: Enrollment status total by headcount Percent Full-Time Percent Part-Time Fall 2014 = 23.2%). Figure 3: Enrollment status of all students (headcount)

Part-time students are more common at our State schools, with 53% (or 5,821 students) attending part-time. This is likely due to the number of Vermont residents who attend these institutions and particularly the number of part-time students enrolled at the Community College of Vermont (CCV). In comparison, 2,780 students at independent colleges attend part-time (19% of total students) and 1,448 UVM students attend part-time (11% of total students – see Figure 4).

Enrollment Status by Institution Type

100% 89% 81% 80% 53% 60% 47% 40% 19% 20% 11%

0% Independent UVM VSC

Percent Full-Time Percent Part-Time

Figure 4: Enrollment status by institution type (headcount)

Distance Education

Over 7,200 (19%) of our students are enrolled exclusively in distance education programs or courses and another 15% (5,800+) of our students are taking some form of online or distance education course (Figure 5).

Enrollment in Distance-Based Education by Headcount

7283

5802

25834

Exclusively Distance Education Some Distance Education On-Campus Education only

Figure 5: Total enrollment in distance education by headcount

These rates represent a continued increase in enrollment in distance education since 2014. In previous years, the proportion of students enrolled exclusively in online programs was rising steadily. From 2018 to 2019, however, the percentage of students enrolled exclusively in distance education remained steady while the percent enrolled in some distance education increased (from 6% to 15%).

Perfcent Enrollment in Distance Education Over Time

19% 19% 20% 16% 15% 15% 12% 10% 5% 6% 6% 5% 0% Independent UVM VSC Total

% of students enrolled exclusively in distance education % of students enrolled in some distance education

Figure 6: Percentage of students enrolled in all or some distance education in 2014, 2017, & 2018

Demographics Total Enrollment by Sex

Sex 4 In Fall 2019, the full-time student population in Vermont was slightly higher in female (51%) than male students (49%) (Figure 7). Females outnumbered males in our state colleges (54% female). While this was true in 2018 and 2017, the female to male ratio at state colleges was actually closer in those Female Male Figure 7: Sex breakdown of full-time students years (almost 50/50), so it is possible that the population at state colleges is becoming more dominated by female students, though a one-year change cannot be seen as a definitive trend. The University of Vermont’s student population was higher in female (60%) than male students (40%), and these data are similar to those from the last two years.

Of note is the fact that the student population at independent colleges was higher in male (57%) than female students (43%) in Fall 2019 and this gap appears to be widening (in 2018, there were 53% male and 47% female). However, the overall percentage is likely impacted by the higher percentage of male students enrolled at , a private military college with an enrollment that is 70% male. In addition, with the closure of 3 independent colleges in Vermont, this may represent a re-centering of the data; this figure should be watched over time to determine if in fact a trend continues (Figure 8). Total Enrollment by Sex by Institution Type 70% 57% 60% 60% 54% 46% 50% 43% 40% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Independent UVM VSC

Female Male

Figure 8: Sex breakdown of full-time students by institution type

4 Data collected for this report mirror data for collected for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). At this time, IPEDS does not track additional categories for gender reporting so we refer to male and female as sexual categories rather than gender identity categories.

Race/Ethnicity

The majority of full-time students at Vermont institutions in 2019 were white (62%) (Figure 9). The next two largest categories were international students (non-resident alien = 13%) and Hispanic/Latino (5%). Racial/ethnic background information was unknown or unreported for 3% of students. While these trends have remained somewhat consistent over the years, there is a notable shift in the white student population – from 74% in 2018 to 62% in 2019; in addition, the percentage of international students has risen 7% (from 6% in 2018 to 13% in 2019). These differences could be explained by the closing of multiple campuses in the state, and the missing data from other institutions. It should be examined over time to illuminate whether trends are present.

While white students continue to be the majority of higher education students in Vermont, campuses are home to a more diverse community than the state of Vermont overall, where the population is approximately 94% white (US Census).

Racial/Ethnic Background of Vermont Higher Education Students

Race/Ethnicity Unknown 3% Nonresident Alien Two or More Races 13% 11% Hispanic/Latino 5%

American Indian or Alaskan Native 1%

Asian 2%

Black or African American 3%

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0%

White 62%

Figure 5: Breakdown of full-time students by race and ethnicity

Vermont-Chartered Higher Education Institutions in Fall 2019

Bennington College The Center for Cartoon Studies Community College of Vermont Goddard College* New England Culinary Institute* Northern Vermont University Norwich University Saint Michael's College SIT Graduate Institute Sterling College University of Vermont Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont Law School* Vermont Technical College

Published February 2020 by:

Vermont Higher Education Council SMC Box 289, One Winooski Park Colchester, VT 05439 802-654-2092; [email protected]

*Data were not provided from these institutions.

Cover photos: Top – Landmark College Communications Office; Bottom – Castleton University Communications Office.